It was found that the boom refuelling technique introduced on the KB-29P tankers was not as effective in refuelling small jet fighters as it was in refuelling large piston-engined bombers. The probe-and-drogue system was found to be more effective for refuelling these smaller aircraft.
A single KB-29M (45-21734) was converted to a three-hose tanker that could refuel three fighters simultaneously by the probe-and-drogue system. One hose was installed in the tail, and the two others were installed on reels mounted in pods suspended underneath the wingtips. This aircraft was redesignated YKB-29T. This was the first triple-point tanker for the Tactical Air Command. >[? By now, the B-29 was thoroughly obsolete and was too slow to be compatible with the newer jet fighters, and only one of these YKB-29T conversions was built. However, a similar triple-hose system was later used on KB-50 tanker conversions.
Sources:
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Warbird History--B-29 Superfortress, Chester Marshall, Motorbooks
International, 1993.
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The Boeing B-29 Superfortress, Mich Mayborn, Aircraft in Profile,
Doubleday, 1969.
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B-29 Superfortress, John Pimlott, Gallery Books, 1980.
-
Boeing Aircraft Since 1916, Peter M. Bowers, Naval Institute Press,
1989.
- United States Military Aircraft Since 1909, Gordon Swanborough and Peter M. Bowers, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1989.
